OAKLAND- The anatomy of this defeat was as painful as it’s been for the Jets in the 41-game Bill Parcells era.

It began with the Raiders, trailing 23-17, getting the ball at their own 10-yard line with 1:49 remaining.

*Pivotal play No. 1: On fourth-and-1 from the Oakland 19, Rich Gannon connected with Tim Brown, covered by Aaron Glenn, for 17 yards.

*Pivotal play No. 2: On third-and-10 from the Oakland 36, Gannon connected with Terry Mickens, with Ray Mickens covering, for 23 yards to the Jets’ 41.

*Pivotal play No. 3: On second-and-10 from the Jets’ 41, Gannon connected with Brown, who turned Glenn around, for 36 yards to the Jets’ 5-yard line with 46 seconds remaining.

*The biggest play of the game: The game-winning TD, on which Gannon eluded Jets’ LB Mo Lewis, who couldn’t wrap him up, and then danced away from Jets’ NT Jason Ferguson and threw the ball to James Jett, covered by Marcus Coleman, with 26 seconds left.

“Bad plays,” Lewis said afterward. “[Gannon] slipped away, stepped up inside. I just didn’t make a play.”

Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden said, “The play was designed for Tim Brown, but the Jets doubled him, and he was disciplined enough to stay on the perimeter. James Jett had an option route and he worked to create vision with [Gannon]. Rich made a few guys miss, reset, and made a nice, tight play.”

Said Coleman: “I just read [Gannon’s] eyes, I knew the ball was coming, and I missed it.”

The drive – and the entire Raiders’ comeback – was excruciating to watch unfold for the Jets. Adding insult, Jett wasn’t even supposed to be on the field running that play, but the Raiders didn’t have time to substitute.

“We couldn’t stop them on third and fourth downs we couldn’t make a play,” Jets’ SS Victor Green said.

Asked what he believed was the biggest play of the drive, Gruden said, “The last play. Before that, Tim Brown’s catch down the sideline to take it down to the [5-yard line]. But the play of the game was Tim Brown’s touchdown catch to make it 20-10, because it gave some life to our football team. We were down 20-3 and being beaten soundly until that play.”

In the end, the group that was beaten most soundly was the ravaged Jets’ secondary. Glenn, a Pro Bowler, might never have played a worse game.

“Sometimes it’s just hard to explain,” Glenn said. “When it happens like this it just hits you in the face.”